2.89 - Majiya – Red Hot Hottie

[Preybird]

Well, it’s been a long while since I posted a deck!

Anyways, I figured I’d share a deck that I’ve been having some fun with lately, utilising someone who is not as ubiquitous as she once was. It’s also something that’s not that common, an elemental damage themed deck, in this case fire.

(That being said I think I'm the third guy in recent weeks to post a Maj deck Mines different, I swear!)

This deck took me from 0 to 300 in the current season, so it’s got some staying power.

Majiya

4 x Cinderborn Fatebreaker
2 x Rapacious Vermin
3 x Infernal Gargoyle
3 x Morbid Acolyte
4 x Grimghast
4 x Phoenix Urigon
3 x Flameborn Defiler
2 x Infernus, Tyrant of the Damned

4 x Fireball
3 x Supernova
2 x Transmogrification Curse

2 x Tome of Knowledge
4 x Flameforged Gauntlets

41 cards inc Hero

Burn Baby Burn

Flameforged Gauntlets ties the deck together. It takes what would normally be a cute concept and makes it work. Generally you will be drawing every turn off the Gauntlets given the number of fire damage sources in the deck. The other two Fire synergy cards are surprisingly good. Flameborn Defiler and Infernus really empower your fire attack allies, plus they boost all your spells. In addition Supernovas are a lot less dangerous for you than your opponent as Urigon, Defiler and Infernus all shrug them off like they’re nothing.

Grimghast

This guy is amazingly good, especially for someone like Majiya who has no way to recover lost health. He slows down your opponent in the early stages and allows you to get a foothold with your ability + other allies. The reason he is maxed out in the deck is twofold. One is that you really do want him early; the other is that your opponent will go after them as priority (even more so than his human counterpart Aldon), so you always need another in backup.

Even better he’s fire damage so is another trigger for Gauntlets.

The Odd Boys

Gargoyle, Acolyte and Vermin. I will freely admit Gargoyle is a filler ally, there to make up the numbers of your 3cc drops, but he’s a damn good one. Given the change to Brimstone Devourer in 2.90 I may swap him in for the 2/5 body and the fire damage. The other two have very specific purposes however.

Acolyte is there primarily to shut down other allies with fire resistance. This is because a single Defiler or Infernus on the opposing side will cause you no end of trouble. That being said he’s also dynamite against Moonstalker, Tala, and anyone who likes to abuse Stealth and Protector.

Rapacious Vermin is used in conjunction with Transmogrification Curse to form your (semi) reliable item destruction. Given space is a real premium this guy is worth his spot, and the fact that he can hit abilities too (like Blood Frenzy) makes him very much worthwhile. Just be wary of the damage he does to you.

Conclusion

I quite like this deck for a number of reasons. It’s very unlike the Majiya’s of old, which relied on Portal (too heavily in my opinion), and it’s a thematic (not tribal) deck that’s actually quite powerful. Bear in mind this is very much a mid-range mage deck, so play it as such. But when used correctly it’s generally got a good fight against most heroes.

Have fun!

[Shadows R Us]

Great writeup as always. Can't wait to give it a run.

[oggtheman]

Looks like a good deck! I like it. Interesting use of trans and vermin

[JohnnyCRO]

Tnx for posting
Seems like an interesting deck, I'll be sure to test it.

[ragosonos]

Majiya at 300 again .. I wanted as much as I can to see it returning to the competitive play.
Thanks for sharing PB fire decks are always fun ..

I ran something like this but found problem to reach high rating as meta is kinda so aggro , don't u think rush vs you is very bad ? ( IK grim helps )
I ran many fire but the real powerful was baduruu at this meta

Thanks again for sharing PB !

[Truesight Hunter]

Better to play allies first or card draw? Seems like allies would be better priority perhaps dependent on the opponent.

[Romantic Gunner]

I was just talking to Ragoso about this yesterday...

[Jultrio]

Do you think this deck could work with Gravebone? It has the fatties and sticky allies that work well with him.

I have had some success with a Gravebone deck with Phoenixes, but having more fire immune allies could make it even stronger, seeing as Super Nova basically won't affect your board.

Not sure if the Flameforge Gauntlets would work as well with him though...
It might work with some minor changes, like the way I play him relies pretty heavily on Cultists. Yeah, the biggest changes would probably have to be to the draw engines.

[ragosonos]

I was just talking to Ragoso about this yesterday...

Lol yeah , like what I told ya.. I love my aggro thing better than others , speed is needed at mages even control ones

PB , my portal majiya had many defiler and FT did u try it?

[Tria]

Do you think this deck could work with Gravebone? It has the fatties and sticky allies that work well with him.

I have had some success with a Gravebone deck with Phoenixes, but having more fire immune allies could make it even stronger, seeing as Super Nova basically won't affect your board.

Phoenix isn't flame-resistant though
My kill-it-with-fire GB did pretty well near 300 late last season, though more control:
4x Grimghast
3x FBC
4x Fuzzy Terrors
4x Defiler
3x Infernus

4x Fireball
3x Meteor Shower
4x Nova
4x Stoneskin - the most OP mage card
3x LS, to deal with counter-flame
3x ToK/1x Crystal Shards

FT is quite seriously a one sided nova with infernus/defiler
Infernus and Defiler are both useful for passives even disabled. If they're killed, bring them back!
Nova kills aeon with 6+2 burn and probably everything else too
Fireball kills Viska at 4+2.

The most fun was against turbox - literally burned my way through waves of allies, winning with them decked out on 20+ resources

BURN EVERYTHING. BURN MAJIYA. LONG LIVE GRAVEBONE.